Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 7
Rāhu, Eclipses, Antarikṣa, and the Seven Subterranean Heavens
Bila-svarga
उपवर्णितं भूमेर्यथासन्निवेशावस्थानमवनेरप्यधस्तात् सप्त भूविवरा एकैकशो योजनायुतान्तरेणायामविस्तारेणोपक्लृप्ता अतलं वितलं सुतलं तलातलं महातलं रसातलं पातालमिति ॥ ७ ॥
upavarṇitaṁ bhūmer yathā-sanniveśāvasthānam avaner apy adhastāt sapta bhū-vivarā ekaikaśo yojanāyutāntareṇāyāma-vistāreṇopakḷptā atalaṁ vitalaṁ sutalaṁ talātalaṁ mahātalaṁ rasātalaṁ pātālam iti.
My dear King, beneath this earth lie seven lower worlds—Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talātala, Mahātala, Rasātala, and Pātāla. I have already described the arrangement of the earthly planetary system; the length and breadth of these seven subterranean realms are exactly equal to those of the earth, and they are set one below another at intervals of ten thousand yojanas.
FAQs
This verse states that below the earth are seven subterranean regions—Atala through Pātāla—each vast in extent and separated by ten thousand yojanas.
Śukadeva is systematically describing the structure of the universe in the Fifth Canto, and this verse transitions from the earth’s arrangement to the seven regions beneath it.
It cultivates humility and God-centered perspective—reminding a seeker that the cosmos is vast and ordered, and that human life is meant for inquiry into the Supreme rather than mere material preoccupation.